


All I Want For Christmas Is You

by kingpeacock



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:56:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22021414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingpeacock/pseuds/kingpeacock
Summary: Written for fleibites on Twitter for the Banana Fish Secret Santa!Ash and Eiji’s first Christmas. Unadulterated fluff, I’m not sorry!
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Lee Yut-Lung/Shorter Wong
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	All I Want For Christmas Is You

Christmas shopping was not Ash’s strongest suit.

Oh, it wasn’t for a lack of knowing what Eiji was like, of course. Mostly because Eiji felt that ‘anything you buy I will love’ constituted a Wishlist, but Ash was smart enough that writing ‘anything’ on a bar of Hershey’s and wrapping it up would mean his snuggle license would be revoked.

Which was why, on Christmas Eve, he was staring at the open, bustling doors of Macy’s department store with a feeling of dread. Eiji deserved the world, but Ash had to be reasonable - his thorough fleecing of every cent Papa Dino owned aside, he had to be sensible in his purchases - so he was determined to find something perfect despite having a budget.

“C’mon, if you stand out here forever you’ll never find something,” Shorter said with a laugh, cuffing an arm around Ash’s shoulders, “I’ve gotta pick something up for Yue, anyway.” Ash made a face at the mention of Yut Lung’s name, which Shorter responded to with a poked out tongue, “Play nice.”

“You can’t make me.” Ash’s reply made Shorter roll his eyes, but he laughed, then started dragging Ash towards the big revolving doors and the throng of people inside. Ash hated crowds, hated shopping and hated gift buying at the best of times, but Christmas? He was walking into his own version of hell.

_Still_ , he reconciled, _Eiji would be grateful_.

Shorter zipped away almost instantly as they walked into the store, muttering something about silk scarves and fragrance, leaving Ash alone to shop.

Ash buried himself looking at clothes and found nothing. He tried homewares, fragrance, toys, stationary, and found nothing. Nothing! Not a single thing aside from a soap dish with a penguin on it, and that was purely because Eiji had jokingly commented about Ash’s lack of one in his bathroom. 

Soap dishes are not Christmas gifts. Of that, Ash was completely certain.

It was roughly then that he stumbled into the book department. Ash was a bookworm, undeniably, but mostly he enjoyed the ritual of going to the library, whether to read or study or just relax, rather than reading at home. 

As he wandered the shelves, he happened upon some books with exquisite, old fashioned bindings, full colour covers and gold writing in a calligraphy style. Ash was drawn to the shelf, his eyes wide as he looked through the titles and considered each carefully.

He settled eventually on a hand bound copy of his favourite novel - Catcher in the Rye - with full illustrated colour plates and a stunning cover featuring the main characters in a vista of golden corn stretching out forever. Ash hugged the book to his chest, and, along with the soap dish, paid and headed outside into the snow.

After ten minutes of waiting, Ash grew bored and so headed into the nearby clothing store. He found himself buying Eiji scarves, gloves and hats, a thick coat and merino wool socks, to stave off the bitter New York winter that had already settled in and chilled the city to the home. Eiji was a cold bod, while Ash was continually warmer than normal, meaning between the two of them they reached quite a comfortable temperature, but he knew Eiji was struggling with the cold.

Finally, as Ash left the clothing store, he saw Shorter. Shorter had in his arms a mountain of wrapped boxes of all shapes and sizes with a very harassed look on his face. Ash laughed, then stopped, then laughed again, bent over as he laughed and wheezed at Shorter’s predicament.

“Fuck you,” was Shorter’s response, which only made Ash laugh harder, “Yue has standards you know!”

“I never thought I’d see you, Shorter Wong, head of the Chinatown gang, buying Yut-fucking-Lung fancy scarves and... Is that a glove box?”

“His hands get chilly!”

“Oh like his heart and sense of humour?” Shorter went to kick Ash and missed, dropping a small octagonal box and sighing deeply. Ash picked up the box and added it back to Shorter’s pile, a laugh escaping his lips. “You’re whipped.”

“I’m not! Well... I... What did YOU get, then?” Shorter replied with a frown, his cheeks gently glowing red in embarrassment. He was whipped, but he also knew where his bread was buttered, and so continued to play the game - even if he did care for Yut Lung, (which he definitely did), it was a game, right?

“A book, some clothes, normal stuff,” Ash replied, his turn to go slightly red, “But I’ll wrap my own, unlike some of us.”

“I wrapped his birthday present and Yue strangled me with the ribbon.”

“I don’t want to know what you two deviants do in the bedroom.”

Shorter frowned then laughed, “Trust me, this is easier.”

Ash took that with a laugh of his own, then took a large box from Shorter’s pile to help him carry it. “Come on, the subway’s due soon.”

  
~~~~~~~

Ash hadn’t ever really understood Christmas. Oh sure, he’d had presents aplenty when he was under Dino’s roof, and even Griff had done his best, but for Ash, it was just another day in the year. When he’d been with Dino, Ash’s Christmas gifts were all more gifts for Dino. Jewellery, clothing, silk shorts and golden earrings, all for Dino’s admiration, and of course his pleasure.

So when Eiji fell into his life, Ash had to admit a small amount of surprise at Eiji’s insistence that they have a proper American Christmas. Eiji had adored Thanksgiving, all that turkey and stuffing, and even Yut Lung had at least looked less murderous while drinking wine more expensive than all of Ash’s internal organs were worth, so he had been surprised but also not surprised.

What had truly surprised him was the yell of, “Wake up! Ash it’s Christmas!” at 4.36am.

Ash went from dead asleep to on his feet, gun in hand, in one smooth second flat, before he realised the lights were all on and Eiji was stood in the middle of their bedroom in a reindeer onesie. Ash quickly put the gun down, safety on, then turned to look at Eiji and startled as a piece of clothing flew at his face.

“It matches!” Ash put the clothing in his lap and unpacked it, discovering it was indeed a matching reindeer onesie. He looked up at Eiji and smiled a wide, genuine smile, standing and wriggling into the onesie, which had Eiji laughing. “It suits you!”

Ash couldn’t help but laugh too, “I don’t know, I think you’re the best reindeer around here,” standing and walking over to Eiji. He caught Eiji in a gentle kiss, fingers on Eiji’s cheek, leaning into him. Eiji’s hands went to Ash’s hips, drawing the two of them together, still not shaking off that smile from his face.

Eiji broke the kiss only to say, “Let’s open our presents!” He grabbed Ash’s hand and dragged him into the lounge room, plopping down by the little tree they’d put up a few days before. Ash sat beside him, then realised Eiji had made hot chocolates with little marshmallows in it in Santa mugs he’d procured from somewhere, which made Ash smile a little. 

He was distracted by Eiji pushing a parcel into his hands. “You first!”

Ash nodded, smiling more, then set to unwrapping it. Inside, there was a collection of various Japanese snacks and chocolates, each with a sticky label on it with an English description of what the package contained.

Their exchange of gifts continued for a while, each handing the other gift after gift, all thoughtful and all loved. Ash found himself slowly understanding why people loved Christmas; Eiji’s childlike joy, enthusiasm and kindness was infectious, to the point that Ash basically forgot the terrible christmases in his past for a few moments as he watched Eiji wear hat, gloves and ear muffs all at the same time while trying to drink his hot chocolate, Ash laughing until he nearly cried with it.

The last gift, the book, stayed under the tree until Ash chose it next. He looked and felt nervous. Giving someone a book you loved felt intimate, more so than anything else he and Eiji had done together, but he swallowed the anxiety and handed the gift over.

Ash was exceptional at wrapping gifts, and so the book was neatly encased in gold and red paper with a perfect bow on the top and a sprig of fresh holly on it to add a traditional flare to the decoration that Eiji took time appreciating. The sprig of holly went behind his ear, and Eiji set to work unwrapping the gift.

He opened it up, then sat with the book in his lap, examining the hand drawn cover with scrutiny. Ash felt the nerves in his stomach, just slowly bubbling up, as he waited for Eiji to speak. 

After a good minute of just staring at the cover, Eiji looked up at Ash, tears in his eyes. Ash almost held his breath as he waited to hear what Eiji thought. 

“Ash this... This is the most beautiful book anyone has ever given me.” Ash smiled, releasing the breath he’d held unwittingly, looking down at the book with that happy smile that Eiji brought out in him, so when Eiji launched into Ash’s lap, he was startled to say the least.

Eiji kissed Ash’s face, all delicate touches and kisses that made Ash melt into him, his hands in Ash’s hair and on his shoulders. Eiji stopped, looking down at Ash with a smile on his face. “I love you.”

Ash smiled, leaning up to kiss Eiji and pull him closer, “I love you, too. Merry Christmas, Eiji.”

Eiji smiled widely, arms around Ash’s neck, squashing them together in a hug that made both of them warm and happy. 

Merry Christmas, indeed.


End file.
